Sunburn is a type of radiation affecting the living skin tissue of humans as a result of exposure to the ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Episodic, acute overexposure to UV radiation from the Sun is a significant health concern that affects nearly everybody.
The most common symptoms of sunburn for people and animals (yes animals can get sunburned too) include reddish skin which feels hot to touch, general fatigue, mild dizziness, pain, swelling or blistering of the skin, headaches, chills and general symptoms of heat exhaustion. Excess of UV radiation can potentially be life-threatening in extreme cases, studies show that sunburn is a major risk factor for two types of the cancer of the skin; melanoma and basal cell carcinoma.
The symptoms of sunburn typically manifest as pain and tightness - this is caused by your system’s attempt to repair the damaged cells. Sunburn blisters, sunburn peeling as well as sunburn itching are all possible signs you’ve potentially caused severe damage to the skin of yours.
Not only does this raises your risk for deadly melanoma, but equally results to increased aging. UV damage accounts for close to ninety percent of the visible aging signs such as the wrinkles on the face.
Currently, people mainly rely on sunscreen to prevent sunburn incidences and use clothing like hats and long sleeved shirts and shade to help protect their skin from the sun. The truth of the matter is all these have proven to be flawed remedies for sunburn protection.
Sunburn peeling associated with severe sunburns is usually as a result your system trying to eliminate the damaged cells. This is essential since the damaged cells are at risk of becoming cancerous.
After you get a sunburn the question now becomes - what is the best sunburn treatment available?
Thanks to the latest research, it has now been proven that Vitamin D may help treat sunburn. All
the symptoms of sunburn including the blistering, redness and soreness of the skin could be reduced incredibly, with the aid of the vitamin derived from the sun; vitamin D.
What’s the new study
The study was conducted by a group of renowned scientists from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medical Sciences. These professionals took twenty healthy adult individuals and exposed them to a certain amount of ultraviolet radiation. Some were given a vitamin D supplement whereas the others took a placebo, sixty minutes after their exposure to the radiation. After this, their skin was measured using biopsies 24, 48 and 72-hours post burn.
The results showed that those who took vitamin D experienced relatively less severe skin damage and their sunburns were able to heal at a much faster rate. Simply put, the participants who took large doses of vitamin D after the sunburn enjoyed long-term benefits including substantial reductions in swelling, redness, and inflammation.
According to these scientists, what triggered the quick healing process was indeed vitamin D. It is believed to have increased the level of the anti-inflammatory enzyme in the skin. The enzyme, in turn, activated the other anti-inflammatory proteins which enhanced the process of tissue repair.
The relationship between Vitamin D and sunlight.
Typically, vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin in a family of compounds which include vitamins D-3, D-2, and D-1. It affects close to two thousand genes in your body. Your body produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. It is regarded as an essential vitamin and performs several functions in your system. Arguably, the most critical ones are the regulation of the absorption of phosphorus and calcium, and the facilitation of an optimum immune system function. Acquiring the sufficient amount of vitamin D is highly essential for the standard growth as well as the development of teeth and bones. What’s more, it incredibly enhances your resistance against a number of diseases.
It is imperative to note that the National Institutes of Health, recommend that people inside the age bracket of between fourteen to seventy years should get an average of six hundred international units of the vitamin daily.
The human skin boasts of a particular compound known as 7-Dehydrocholesterol which when exposed to adequate sunlight, produces vitamin D-3. This is the most bioavailable form of vitamin D and boasts of amazing benefits. But, because of the anticipated risk of excess UV exposure, the prospect of getting the ideal amount of vitamin D from the sunlight is somehow not often feasible.
Vitamin D can potentially activate the repair genes of your skin.
According to the study, not only did the participants who took massive doses of vitamin D had less skin redness and reduced inflammation, but also showed a jump regarding the gene activity related to skin barrier repair as compared to the other participants. Again, the biopsies which were collected and examined demonstrated a potential mechanism behind skin repair. These scientists found that vitamin D may have increased the amount of a particular anti-inflammatory compound known as arginase-1, which boosts tissue repair after damage and also aids activate other essential inflammatory enzymes.
Vitamin D supplementation.
A significant of the population is deficient in essential vitamin D. Perhaps this can be attributed to the modern lifestyle which somehow prevents us from getting the right amounts of vitamin D from the sun. Again, the dietary sources of vitamin D are minimal, especially for the vegetarians and vegans, who are at a higher risk of deficiency. People with an adequate amount of vitamin D in their diet as well as those who supplement are much better equipped to fend off diseases including, diabetes, depression, heart diseases, obesity bone disorders, influenza, osteoporosis among others. What’s more, it is now being touted to be the best sunburn treatment. For those who are not able to achieve vitamin D requirements through exposure to sunlight and diet, vitamin D supplements are a decent alternative.
How to prevent sunburn peeling.
It is crucial to note that even though there are many blog posts on how to treat sunburns using sunburn remedies it is almost impossible to reverse the underlying damage. However, you can only ease the pain by applying a sunburn moisturizer, which will hydrate both the outside and the inside of your skin. But, your risk for age-related signs, cancer as well as the sunburn symptoms won’t diminish. This is where vitamin D becomes extremely essential. As revealed by the study, vitamin D is an effective sunburn cure but equally allows your skin to heal, potentially helping keep the aging signs at bay.
The Bottom Line.
Studies tend to show that sunburn prevalence among the U.S. adults is ever increasing. There are several reasons which may account to this even though they are not well defined. Sunburn increases your risk for skin cancer. Even though there are lots of sunburn remedies out there which are believed to help prevent and treat it, most of these remedies are incredibly ineffective. Possibly, this research has now offered to an effective treatment for sunburn, known as vitamin D. Vitamin D is readily available from the sun and it can also be acquired from foods such as fatty fish, eggs, and cheese. It is high time you start taking vitamin D and help cure sunburn and prevent peeling as well.
Suzanne is an independent health care industry analyst & speaker and entrepreneur. She has successfully completed many health care events and in-demand as a speaker, regular contributor